Distribution Revolution Q&A

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By Robert 'Apache' Howarth

Gamecloud shot up an interview with Valve's Doug Lombardi in part one of its "Distribution Revolution" interview series:

Gamecloud - Of course, distributing on the Internet also frees game developers from dealing directly with publishers. Do you feel that this will also allow the freedom for games to be more creative and take risks in gameplay design and content?

Doug Lombardi - Creativity and risk are not popular in the green light room at the publishers' offices these days - ask any developer who's pitched an original game idea in the last 12 months. So yes, the ability to create a game of any size and completely of your own design is a central benefit to this alternative form of distribution. Counter-Strike is a great example of a project that would have been killed in a traditional green light meeting (no single player, extreme difficulty from the first moment of play, etc). In addition, with Steam these authors have a place where they can sell their works and pocket the majority of the revenues earned.

Valve is looking to extend its Steam service to other developers (for a price, I'm sure).